Drew Henson to quit baseball?

[ShovelMonkey]

Drew Henson quitting baseball? (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=1607111)

[TLK]

I hear this..... I could be wrong, but he'll never make an impact in the NFL. I was never too impressed with him in college and the two years he took off aren't gonna help him at all.

[Philliesfan980]

Basically, because he was "wishy washy" and never really committed to 1 sport, he'll be a nobody in both sports. I think this sends a strong signal, don't be so cocky and think you can play two professional sports, when most people can't even play one.

[MrBug708]

At least the Texans could probably get a decent OL in a trade

[kcchief19]

He and/or his agent is/are idiot(s). By walking out on the Yankees deal, they are not obligated to pay him another dime. So he's leaving $12 million on the table for a contract that will pay him a fraction of that. The only way he will ever be able to recoup that $12 million is if he sticks as a starting QB.

I realize that what Henson is doing is rare in sports. He knows he won't cut it and he's walking away without holding up the owner. But God knows that if he was a diamond in the rough who made the all-star team as as rookie, The Boss wouldn't give him a penny more than his $300,000. The guy should be thinking about himself and his family. That $12 million could ensure that he and his family are set for life. It's like he won the lottery and he tore up the ticket and bought another because he thinks he will win again.

[Eaglesfan27]

I agree with Kcchief19, I think he should have at least negotiated a buyout from the Yankees. He didn't force them to sign him to the big contract, he shouldn't just walk away from the deal with no future money when he might not ever make it in the NFL.

[FBPro]

About time......

[Solecismic]

So, a few negative words and Henson's ready to give up on baseball. Seems like par for his course. If I were running the Yankees I'd tell him to put a sock in his agent (obviously, the rumors are coming from somewhere, and that's almost certainly the source) and get back to work. No way would I settle with him - let him quit if he wants to.

If Henson actually dedicated himself, he'd probably be quite a good baseball player. Or football player. His choice, and he made it twice already. Once when he made Lloyd Carr promise not to recruit any more quarterbacks, and the second time when he gave up football to sign the more recent deal with the Yankees.

I don't understand Pasquerelli's troubles with the salary cap. Obviously, any deal would be at the minimum for this year, with a huge roster bonus for next season. You can't play games with unlikely to be earned incentives. "Showing up for practice 75% of the time" is going to be judged "likely to be earned."

"Really, really dedicating yourself to football" could be considered "unlikely to be earned" when it comes to Henson, but I doubt the league would allow it into the contract.

I suspect if Henson does make the switch, he's in for a huge wake-up call when he's handed his first playbook and expected to learn it. You can't get away with half-knowing it and placing miniature versions of the Encyclopedia Britannica on your wrist to fill in the gaps, like you can in college. Players just aren't going to respond to you if they're not confident you know what to do when the strong-side linebacker blitzes and the corner stays with the flanker.

Being an NFL quarterback requires just as much dedication and effort as being a Major League third baseman, if not much, much more.

[SunDancer]

Well said Jim. I think Henson has the skills to be a really good pro quarterback, just his deciation. It will be interesting to see how Houston will hanlde his rights? Could a team like Oakland, Buffalo, Green Bay be interested in acquriing his rights, and grooming him to be the starter in a few years?

[SteelerFan448]

Henson probably could have been the number one overall pick, I think it would have been for the Texans, if he would have stayed playing football. That right there would have been a ton more than his $12 million in baseball. Even if he wasn't, the guy most likely would have been a top 10 pick. He should have made a move before training camps. He would have had one year as a third string to learn an NFL system and would have been in very good shape going into his second year. Now it will take him a little longer.

[TroyF]

Henson should already have his family set for life. He's made over 6 million dollars with the Yankees. Ge's spending that right, he could retire today and never work another day the rest of his life. Even if he "struggles" along as a backup in the NFL for 5 years, he'll get 300k a year at a minimum to do that. (add on another million or two to the money he already has)

I don't think we'll see him begging for food stamps anytime soon.

TroyF